School is almost back in session but none of the children at Talahi Community School on Saturday afternoon seemed to be upset about it.

"I am excited," soon-to-be seventh-grader Jeremiah Simmons said. "I'll be getting more knowledge ... and getting to do different things."

Students, their families, school officials and other community members were on hand to take part in the St. Cloud branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People's fourth annual back-to-school celebration. The event is part of a nationwide initiative to help students celebrate getting back to the classroom.

"I think it's great to actually get outside the structure of school and to see the parents and the students that will be going to school in the near future," said John Lewis, second vice president of St. Cloud's NAACP.

The event featured a variety of speakers who spoke to parents and their children about making the best of the school year. St. Cloud School District 742 Superintendent Willie Jett was one of the event's first speakers and his anticipation for the coming school year was clear.

"We are ready and we are excited for the students to come back to the school in the next couple of weeks," Jett said.

The event has been held at a different site each year, Lewis said, but there was an added bonus to Talahi hosting the celebration; it gave new Talahi principal Kate Flynn a chance to immerse herself in the community she'll be serving during the upcoming school year.

"I'm just grateful ... that we can do this for our community," she said. "Every one of the speakers in there is talking about empowerment, getting kids the things they need, getting parents connections, they don't have to do this alone, we do this together."

Besides food and fun, the day also gave the people who attended access to vendors and useful information all under one roof, Flynn said. Doing so was a way to show people that events organizers were serious about being there for families.

"You've got to be committed, the school has got to be committed. I know the superintendent and the school board are going to do their jobs so it's all about laying out what is our job and how are we going to do that best," Flynn said. "We've got to know how to navigate these waters."

Parents who attended the event appreciated the effort.

"I think this is great, I think this is very important," Simmons' mother, Sharon Patton, said. "We've got a lot of people that can't afford this kind of help."